Fast food in China from past to present

DOUG YOUNG, 53, a US freelance journalist and writer who has been in China intermittently for 20 years.

What were you doing in China in 1987?

I graduated from university the year before and came to Beijing in May with a friend who was very interested in China and wanted to continue his Chinese studies in Taiwan. I got a job to teach English at a university here so I came back in August and stayed for two years before going to Hong Kong.

Back then, there were no Western food establishments. The only Western food we could get was from joint venture hotels.

I was craving American food and one day someone told me there was a KFC near Tian'anmen, so I went down and saw this massive restaurant that was nothing like the US outlets. It was like a tourist attraction. Today it has become a one-floor restaurant that is nothing like the old one.

What was it like to eat at a KFC in China in 1987?

It was quite special. Most foreigners were getting special treatment at hotels and train stations in China. But at KFC, we had to dine like the average Chinese. We needed to wait in line and I had to spend more than an hour to travel to KFC from the university I taught at. Because of the distance, I only ate at KFC twice a month at most.

I love fried chicken. But I wasn't that into KFC back in the US. There were several chains offering fried chicken where I grew up in Washington DC. I guess most of my KFC quota was filled in China.

How often do you dine at fast food restaurant now?

Almost never. It's interesting. Now, I only go to KFC or McDonald's when I am out of Beijing where I live, or in Chinese cities I am not very familiar with. The food is not very healthy and there are also so many other choices to choose from. But I never worry about food safety issues. I think most of the issues were merely storms in teacups. I personally believe that big chains, including Chinese fast food chains, have a higher food safety standard than the smaller shops along the street.